The E in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is an insidious goal that robs people of achievement, excellence and individual rights, argues Wai Wah Chin, an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Writing for Real Clear Education, Chin points out that universities uphold the notion of equity as if it is a noble goal, when in fact it is a pipedream untethered from human reality and based in Marxist roots:
Equity has many variants, but essentially, equity aims for equality of outcomes, ruling in favor of groups based on overlapping, or “intersectional” oppressions – in diametric opposition to our treasured principle of equality, which aims for equality of rights for individuals.
This just rehashes communism’s slogan, “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs,” which dates back to before Karl Marx. Equity, in this context, demands that we confiscate and redistribute, all while employing discrimination to achieve its ends.
In pushing for equal outcomes, equity is deeply delusional. The first delusion is that 100% can be the top 1%. The object of contention – whether it’s getting into Harvard, the Chicago Symphony, the Mayo Clinic, or the NBA – is limited in availability. Excellence is, by definition, scarce.
Also, the inconvenient fact is that, once at Harvard, the Chicago Symphony, the Mayo Clinic, or the NBA, one must perform. The best processes for granting these scarce spots evolved to select for performance. Orchestras have blind auditions, colleges have blind-graded SATs. We can discuss fine-tuning these processes to improve equal rights. Equity, though, wants to be performance-blind. That’s delusional.
The realities of scarcity and performance compel equity to deliver the lowest common denominator; that’s the only way to deliver equal outcomes. It is no accident that standards are lowered when equity trumps merit. Once again, equity’s happy promise is a delusion; equity makes us worse off.
Equity, being a failed delusion, doesn’t deliver the desired outcome, and to reach equity’s promises, equity steals openly. This is not surprising. Marx understood early that Communist Liberation requires dismantling property rights – i.e., state-sponsored confiscation. But for equity, it’s also confiscation of achievements, contributions, and individual rights.
Equity deludes when it postures that 100% can be the top 1%, when it pretends that performance doesn’t matter, when it promises happy outcomes for all, and when it’s just communist theft and confiscation by another name. As part of DEI, equity is also racist. It is time to dispel equity, the last triumvir of the DEI delusion.
Read the full piece at Real Clear Education.
MORE: Despite massive DEI efforts, UMich students report feeling worse about themselves
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